Slide button



PRE. FENTON sum: BUTTON Filed April 50. 1927 Dgc. 27, 1927. 1,654,479

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Patented l e 23?.

barren STATES PATENT FF PAUL neurons, or THOMASTQN, oonnno'rrou'r', nssrsnon 'ro seovint MANUFAC- runine COMPANY, or WATERBURY, oon n'norronr, n conronn'rmn on conundr- ECUT.

SLIDE BUTTON.

Application filed April 30, 1927. Serial No 188,004.

In rubber articles, such as bathing caps, where a button and a buttonholeconnection are provided, some ditliculty has been experienced in so forming such connection that excessive wear will not occur and the usefulness ol the articles be thereby impaired. I

In this, class of articles, the buttonhole is ordinarily formed by an aperture appreciably smaller than the head of the button adapted for cooperation with it, and surrounded by a bead which thickens and rein"; forces the edges of the material at the aperture. In order to enter a button insueh a bot-tonhole, the portion of the material surrounding the hole must necessarily be stretched, and this is true also in removing the button. Any severe strain on the material during the operationsot buttoning and unbuttoning, such as might be occasioned by hasty or impatient-or careless manipulation of the parts, is very apt'to result in tearing of the buttonhole and consequent impairn'lg of the usefulness, and attractive appearance of the article.

Various types of buttons used in connection. with articles of this character, and all of them with which I am familiar, regardlessof the material of which they are made, are formed with straight cylindrical shank and a head circular in plan and having a curved outer or upper surface and a fiat inner or under surliace, the latter forming a relatively sharp angle with the shank where the head and Such buttons will,,when hastily unbuttoned, tend to hang in the buttonhole, and it forced will tear the hole.

The object of this invention is to provide a button which may be easily inserted in and removed from a buttonhole of the type described, and which is of such design as to make remote the possibility of tearing the buttonhole even when rou 'hl careless- D 7 1y or hastily manipulated.

The invention consists in a button, preterably a slide button, adapted to be adjusted from a sin le piece of sheet material, the

shank flaring toward the head and thereby a substantially forming on the inner or under side of the head a rounding or sloping shoulder, and thus eliminating an angle atthe junction ol' the shank with the under side of the head, as ,I will proceed now to explain andlinally claim.

in the accompanying drawings illustrat ing the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure l is a perspective view ofabathing cap having achin strap provided with the button of my invention. Figs. 2, 3and 4: are respectively,a top plan view, a bottom plan View and an elevation ofthe-complete slide button. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the button, member detached, and Fig. 6 is a bottom. plandthereott. Fig. 7 is a central sectional elevation of the button taken on line 77 of Fig. 3; Figs. :2 to T enlarged,

The shde button comprises a slide or base showing the parts member 1 having two, more or less, slots or openings 2, to receive a strap, andan aperture 3 to receive the shank of the button member 4.. k

The preferred form of button member 4 has a head 5 and a shank 6, formed from a single, integral piece of sheet material, preterably b ass, so shaped as toproduce a head having a rounded undivided upper surface 7 and a sloping shoulder 8 underneath the head and bending into the shank 6 with a smooth curve or flare which continues to the smaller end of the shank, thereby eliminating the relatively sharp angle which is found to be objectionable in fasteners of this character. I

The shank'6 is insertedin the aperture 3 otthe slide orbase member 1, and the er;- tent of such insertion is limitedby theflia-re of the shank, and then the protruding end or" the shank is clinched upon the back of the slide member, as indicated at 9. The shank 6 being slitted, as shown at 10, this clinching is easily accomplished without any distortion of theparts.

As will be apparent from the showing of Fig. 1, two of these slide buttons are pretcrably used with a bathing cap'of the type illustrated, one of same being applied adjacent to each end of a chin strap 11, preferably of rubber or other elastic material, the ends of the strap being run through the openings 2 in the slide members 1 and forming bights '12 in the strap which maintain the desired adjustment of the slide buttons on the strap and cover the clinched portions 9.

Obviously, the slide but-tons may be adjusted along the strap as desired by the user, and the bights 12 standing away some What from the slide members will prevent contact of the metal of the slide members with the head of the wearer.

The cap is provided with flaps 13 each of which is formed with a buttonhole of the type hereinbefore described, consisting of an aperture 14 surrounded by a reinforcing bead 15.

In order to attach the strap ll'to the flaps 13 of the cap, the heads 5 of the button members 4 are forced through the apertures 14:, the rounded upper surfaces 7 of the heads 5 enabling the button members to readily pass through the apertures as the material of the flaps stretches. When the heads 5 have passed through the buttonholes the beads 15 will underlie the heads in close engagement with the sloping shoulders 8; and although a sufliciently firm engagement between the parts is thus provided to meet all ordinary strains in use, any unusual strain'such as would be occasioned by hasty or careless unbuttoning, will not tend to tear out the buttonhole, because the button head will ride smoothly out of the hole on the curve or flare of the shank 6 and sloping shoulder 8.

When the bathing cap equipped with my slide button is being worn and the strap is under tension, av certain amount of pull is exerted against the rubber buttonhole 1d. When the rubber is stretched normally in this position and the sudden strain necessary to remove the button head from the hole is exerted, a flat shoulder underneath the head is a decided disadvantage since it has a tendency to cut and tear the stretched rubber, and this objection is overcome by the The slide buttons may be coated, enamelled, lacquered Or colored to match the color of the cap and chin strap with which they are used, or they may be otherwise finished.

I am aware that slide buttons, per se, are

not new, and I am aware, also, that slide 7 formed of a single piece of sheet material and having a sloping shoulder 8 and flaring shank 6 as contradistinguished from the abrupt or angular shoulder and straight shank of the buttons heretofore known.

Brass has been hereinbefore mentioned as the material of which the slide button may be manufactured, but obviously other metals or materials might be equally well used, and various other changes and modifications are contemplated as within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is 1. A slide button, comprising a base member and a button member, said button member comprising a rounded head and a shank formed of a single piece of sheet metal, and said shank flaring continuously from its smaller end upwardly toward said head and forming a sloping shoulder underneath the rounded head, whereby the button may be engaged with and disengaged from'an elastic buttonhole appreciably smaller than the button head without liability to injuring the buttonhole.

2. A slide button, comprising a base member having an aperture, and a button member having a rounded head and a shank formed integrally from a single piece of metal, said shank extending through said aperture to an extent limited by the aftermentioned flare and clinched on said base member and flaring from said base member to said head to form a rounding or sloping shoulder underneath the head whereby an angle at the junction of the headand shank is eliminated.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of April, A. D. 1927.

PAUL E. FENTON. 

